Positive Deviants
Positive Deviants
Supporting, Inspiring, and Connecting the People Transforming our Communities.
Positive Deviants are under-resourced, yet resourceful. Driven by purpose to break down barriers. Comfortable with risk. Often viewed as outsiders. Curious about new ways of thinking and doing. Positive Deviants motivate and inspire others, simply by being their authentic selves.
When Positive Deviants from Dayton, Pittsburgh, and Indianapolis came together for a conversation around shared values, they discovered a bond beyond geography and regional challenges. Each community is home to many unconventional change agents. These people are innovating the work of transforming their communities, often without recognition or sufficient resources.
Connecting, re-energizing, and expanding the practice of Positive Deviants is our goal.
The global pandemic has made it impossible to ignore the steep price of inequitable systems on the health, wealth, and wellbeing of disinvested communities. At the same time, there is no shortage of transformative, inspiring, community-led work happening in our cities. The missing ingredient is a platform to raise awareness of these leaders, the creativity of their models, and the impact they are making. By elevating their stories we can shift the narrative towards a deeper understanding of what is possible - and how we can achieve it.